2007 AIA Michigan Design Honor Award

 General Motors Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant
Delta Township, Michigan

Jury Comment:
“Achieving a LEED Gold certification for this skillfully designed manufacturing facility is a nearly impossible task and the approach and ideas developed will become a model for similar structures.”

Project Description:

The Challenge:

The transformation of 375 of 1,100 acres of farm land into a campus-style automotive assembly facility designed with efficiency, environmental responsibility and the principles of sustainable design in mind.

The Method:

The facility was designed to work in harmony with its surroundings by utilizing natural resources, such as rain water, indigenous plants, sunlight and recycled materials to make the project as organic to its location as possible. Special care was given to the reduction of waste material at the construction site, and a conscious effort was made to lessen plant emissions that contribute to ozone depletion and global warming by including heating/cooling and fire suppression equipment that is free of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs) or halons.

The Result:

A synergistic blend of innovation, technology, nature and manufacturing. The project carries the designation of the first U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certified automotive manufacturing facility for the care taken in creating its body shop, general assembly building, central administration building and arrival center. In fact, the facility is the only manufacturing plant in the world — as well as the largest facility and the most complex manufacturing site — to ever receive any level of LEED certification. Over the first ten years of operations, the facility is expected to save over 40 million gallons of water and 30 million kwh of electricity.
 

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